they are playing mostly defense and trying to win back the states that bush won in 2004. but something has changed. but what has changed is going back to where we were, essentially atied it race, a slight obama advantage. i think that probably still applies. there will be a lot of ballgame still to be played the next month to hash this out. romney got himself back in the conversation. he needed a big moment last week. he did change the story and got himself something more positive, to going into the v.p. debate. >> they are tied but psychological, but romney is a tick up. they are essentially tied. >> the psychology of not looking like a loser is huge. there is a secondary effect, where you get into a spiral. you are behind the polls and you think you are a loser and everything seems like -- the thing only a loser would do. i think he has broken the depth spiral. there is a secondary bounce that will come out of just -- one tick up in the polls, even if he is not leading the race. >> he really was in danger of getting into that spiral. what he got from the debate was what